From the publicly-known news: So many drastic events are taking place in many parts of the world. Count only the obvious: a revolution in Tunisia; a way out for the people of Southern Sudan from the dictatorship of their Northern government is being paved; Lebanon is without a government after Hizbullah withdrew its support for fear it will have to confront the International Court for the crime of assasinating Rafic Al Hariri; Growing discontent in Egypt; The leaders of America and China are meeting in Washington to increase their trade in the superpower economic competition for control of the global economy; and in Toronto, Canada a policeman Sgt. Ryan Russell was fatally struck by a stolen snowplow when he was trying to recover it from the robber.
But at least there is one good news: Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords who narrowly escaped assasination in Arizona is recovering well from her near-fatal wounds in the brain. For her family this is good news. It is good news that many rejoice at the recovery of a fellow human person. It is good news that we can still differentiate between what is good and what is evil. And there is more good news: The misery we see befalling other humans causes us to group together and reaffirm our togetherness. Would that be enough to celebrate? Hardly - Birds do the same thing - they group together to escape predators. Animals live in groups. Fish also swim in groups.
But humans usually do better: Humans pray to God together. In ancient times humans prayed to save themselves. Religions grew because of the constant need to survive. Humans want to be eternal and for this the ancients built pyramids and temples. We are no different today except that we have a better understanding of human dignity based on the Biblical message that Man is created in the image of God.
The Biblical message fulfilled by Christ is simple: God reveals himself as the lover. Revelation is His self-communication of selfless love. In accordance with His love, He enters history in the incarnation of Christ to redeem humanity and bring it to its ultimate purpose: God. The Apocalypse is not the story of the end of the world as much as it is the story of its beginning in the glory of God. "Maran Atha" (an Aramic expression close to Arabic) was the prayer of early Christians and should be our prayer today. We must pray for the coming back of Christ - He is the same whom the Jews expect and Muslims too believe He will judge everyone. Christ is the light of the entire world which the Magi went after. How can we see Christ again? By constant prayer to Him who is our fellow human and God: The Eucharist is the mystery of our union with Him always present on earth. Frequent prayer from the heart to Him who saved us, frequent confession and communion of the Eucharist, forgiveness of others, and reconciliation seem necessary. We must pray together - married people need to pray together - families need to pray together - communities need to pray together - Christians need to pray together as the week of prayer for Christian unity is here. The message is to submit to God's will in prayer. He will never forsake us.
If atheists themselves believe that God cannot be removed from human memory, how can we remove him? Let us pray as Christ taught us:
"Our Father Who Art in Heaven Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom Come. Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil."
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